wildfire
[ wahyld-fahyuh r ]
/ ˈwaɪldˌfaɪər /
noun
a highly flammable composition, as Greek fire, difficult to extinguish when ignited, formerly used in warfare.
any large fire that spreads rapidly and is hard to extinguish.
sheet lightning, unaccompanied by thunder.
the ignis fatuus or a similar light.
Plant Pathology. a disease of tobacco and soybeans, characterized by brown, necrotic spots, each surrounded by a yellow band, on the leaves and caused by a bacterium, Pseudomonas tabaci.
Pathology Obsolete. erysipelas or some similar disease.
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Words nearby wildfire
wilder, wilder, thornton, wilderness, wilderness area, wilderness road, wildfire, wildflower, wildfowl, wilding, wildish, wildland
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for wildfire
British Dictionary definitions for wildfire
wildfire
/ (ˈwaɪldˌfaɪə) /
noun
a highly flammable material, such as Greek fire, formerly used in warfare
- a raging and uncontrollable fire
- anything that is disseminated quickly (esp in the phrase spread like wildfire)
lightning without audible thunder
another name for will-o'-the-wisp
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with wildfire
wildfire
see spread like wildfire.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.